Villains Lament - Jafar
by thefictionalLady
Summary: Jafar tell his side of the story. Jafar POV


I am but a simple man, with simple needs and little ambition. My only desire was to fulfill my duty as advisor to the Sultan to the best of my abilities. My duties involved advising his majesty on foreign affairs, matters relating to taxes, the subjects, and whatever else his majesty felt he needed advising on.

What qualified me to be in such a position? Well I can assure you that I am very thoroughly educated. I am well versed in any literature and language you could think of, and if you can think of it then with a little research I am positive I would be able to learn that as well. My proficiency in mathematics and sciences exceeds all other scholars living today. I greatly admire the works of Archimedes, Pythagoras, Plato and most of the other great Greek philosophers, except I was not too fond of Homer, nothing personal just not my cup of tea. I may sound like I'm bragging, but my whole life has been a constant quest for knowledge, and I have certainly acquired it. It is because of this wisdom and knowledge that I was able to be the one and _only_ advisor to the three great Sultans, and I had worked very hard to get here.

I was born into a relatively poor family. My father was a palace guard, which brought home enough to buy food for three, which would have been perfect if there hadn't have been seven of us. I was the eldest of the bunch so as soon as I was able I had to help my mother weave baskets and work in the garden harvesting what vegetables would grow, then carry all of the wares to the market place where we would spend the whole day sitting under the hot desert sun in a crowded alley with only a thin sheet over our heads to try and block some of the rays. The market place was busy, the noise from shopkeepers yelling about their wares and customers yelling to try to haggle the price lower was enough to make one wish they were deaf. I never cared for the marketplace, I much preferred to work in the garden or weave baskets with no sound but the wind and the faint echo of birds in the distance. I thought that nothing would make me happier than staying in that little garden, carefully pulling the weeds out from around the vegetables, for the rest of my existence.

That is, until I discovered books.

My thirst for knowledge began with a distant cousin who happened to be a traveling merchant. He was surprisingly educated, very charming and quite successful. During one winter, he became very ill conveniently close to our city and came to stay with us until he was better. Luckily for me, it was an ongoing illness, but not very serious after the initial impact. Once he was better I became his constant companion, he taught me everything he knew, and once I could read he began giving me books so that I may learn what he didn't know and teach him.

When the winter ended my cousin was restored to health and took his leave, but before he left he had a talk with my parents. My family could see how much I had changed, and what potential I had. My cousin advised my parents to send me off to be apprenticed or taught by actual scholars and that if they did not it would be a great waste. He left a bag of money "for the trouble" of keeping him throughout the winter, but my parents knew what he really wanted them to do with it. And so, a few days later I too was off, to the capital city, Agrabah.

Finding a tutor was not hard, in fact it seemed like Agrabah was teeming with them. Every person I asked was a scholar, and willing to teach me a few things for free or a few coins. The hard task was finding a tutor that would not only teach me, but would also take me in and apprentice me to make something of myself. But after about a week of wondering around, sleeping in alleyways and eating one meal a day to conserve my money and make it last, a kind old man took me in.

His name was Duban, Master Duban to me. He was once a Vizier to the Sultan at the time, but his daughter fell ill and he was graciously released from his duties to take care of her. Master Duban was a master of languages, arts, and anything you could image – a jack of all trades if you will – and as soon as he saw me he knew I had the same adaptability as him, or so he said. Along with teaching me he also took me into his home, and allowed me to do his chores as pay for my staying, eating and tutoring. His daughter unfortunately did not survive her illness, and his wife died soon after leaving Master Duban quite alone. His sadness was too great for him to return to work, but lucky for me, it was not too great for him to take on an apprentice.

Our lessons were always at night, starting right as the completely disappeared below the horizon. "In my experience, when the light fades the mind brightens. Great thoughts rarely come to us when the sun is at its highest, but rather when it feels the farthest from us. Therefore I shall teach you when the sun isn't around at all." So I spent my nights atop the roof, listening to him lecture about politics and philosophers and recite great pieces of literature and prose from memory, or attempting to hold a conversation in Greek or Turkish.

Master Duban tutored me for six years. When he had taught me all that he could he used his credit as former Vizier to the Sultan, to get me a position in court as a scholar for the king. I came to him as a twelve year old boy thirsting for knowledge and left him as an eighteen year old man who was overflowing with it.

When the day came for me to leave, we were both sad to depart from each other, for as you could imagine we had become very close over the course of the years.

"Now, my dear boy, I have taught you these six years all that I possibly could and you have learned it far faster than even I did. Your wit is quick, your mind is sharp, and you are skilled at whatever you do. I have come to think of you as a son, and I hope that I have been something like a father to you-"

"Of course, Master Duban, you have been more than a father, but a friend and savior as well. I am forever grateful to your kindness and will forever be in your debt."

Master Duban smiled and patted my head. "I am very glad to hear that, my dear boy. So as a father figure I would just like to say I am very proud of you and expect you to continue to make me proud. You have the potential to do great things, and if you try hard enough I have no doubt you could be Royal Vizier one day as well. The scholar's life will be good for you I think, you will have access to all of the documents and materials Agrabah has and there will be no shortage of things to read and you may even write your own works. But keep in mind that you must be ambitious, more so than the others. You must also be on your guard, for everyone is vying for attention with the Sultan, trying to boost their status and earn praise, and they will do absolutely anything to get it. It can be a cutthroat world, but don't waste your times playing those ridiculous games. Keep to information, be the wisest one in the room, be the most charming one in the room, but don't be the biggest kiss up in the room. Set yourself apart from the others by displaying that you don't need to play those games. And finally, when you do finally gain the power and status in which I know you are capable of achieving, do not lose sight of who you are. Do not get power hungry. I have seen too many intelligent men, good men, turn into imbeciles with no morals or spine. There is nothing more dangerous than losing one's soul to power."

"I promise that will never happen to me, Master Duban. I swear that I will only ever seek knowledge, for knowledge is the only power I will ever need."

"I truly hope that is so, my son."

As he said, I enjoyed the scholar's life. Everything I could ever want to know was at my fingertips. I even found a book on magic and taught myself to be a sorcerer, quite a good one at that. It was one of the ways that I, following Master Duban's advice, set myself apart from the others, for as soon as I arrived I already knew that I was easily the smartest one in the room. I quickly rose to the ranks to Royal Vizier in a matter of two years. I had seen three Sultans already, and had every intention of seeing several more. Unfortunately a mildly clever street rat with a magic lamp charmed his way into the Princess's and Sultans heart and somehow convinced all of Agrabah that I was evil. Well you know the story.

Now I have lost everything, and am left to my own devices in the prison of my mind, and a teeny tiny lamp. My name is Jafar, and the only power I was after was knowledge.


End file.
